Sports agency halted proceedings on the grant for the reconstruction of the Zlín stadium

Zlín - The National Sports Agency (NSA) has halted the process for a grant to reconstruct the Luďek Čajka Winter Stadium in Zlín. CTK was informed of this today in a press release by the spokesman of Zlín city hall, Tomáš Melzer. The city requested a grant of up to 300 million Czech crowns. The estimated costs for the reconstruction were nearly one billion crowns. The city disagrees with the suspension of the process and does not rule out pursuing legal action.

"The decision surprised us very unpleasantly. Especially given the situation where no one from the NSA contacted us the entire time, and they did not consult with us on any problem we needed to resolve. Meanwhile, such a procedure is completely standard with other grants. We are convinced that we did not violate any condition," stated the mayor of Zlín, Jiří Korec (ANO). "We have a building permit for the land around the sports hall, which the NSA considers problematic, and furthermore, we have not requested any funding to modify these lands. We disagree with the NSA's position and will likely have no choice but to seek a legal remedy," he said.

Korec previously stated that obtaining a grant from the agency is crucial for financing the reconstruction. Last February, the Zlín city council approved the transfer of the winter stadium, previously owned by the HC Berani Zlín club, to the city's ownership. The plan for the reconstruction of the stadium, where Zlín's hockey players play extraleague matches, and its gratuitous transfer to the city was approved by the council earlier.

NSA spokesman Jakub Večerka told CTK that he cannot comment specifically on the grant process because it is still ongoing. "As long as it is not closed, it is confidential by law," said Večerka. According to the Zlín city hall, of the eight submitted applications, only two advanced to the next stage of grant evaluation, those from Brno and Jihlava. Večerka confirmed that two projects had passed the initial review to the final evaluation phase. "For other applicants, the deadline for submitting documentation is still running, or some applications have already been rejected for not meeting the conditions of the grant call," said Večerka.